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DflCUMENT RESUME
ED 099 402 TM 004 055
AUTHOP Thelen, Herbert; And OthersTITLE Assessment of Classroom Ethos and Some of Its
Correlates.PUB DATE Apr 74NOTE 17p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association (Chicago,Illinois, April 1974)
EDRS PRICE MF-50.75 HC -$1.50 PLUS POSTAGEDESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; *Classroom Environment; Item
Analysis; *Morale; *Sex Differences; Socialization;Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Role; *Tests
IDENTIFIERS *ALP Ethos Instrument; Classroom Ethos
ABSTRACTThe study sought to define the Ethos of a classroom
and its operating assumptions. The basic components of the Ethosvariable are Authenticity (for individual students), Legitimacy (interms of knowledge and societal disciplines), and Productivity(effectiveness of activities). This variable is referred to by itsacronym, ALP. An international study and a Chicago-based study usingthe ALP instrument have been begun. Forty-nine classrooms in theChicago area have been analyzed and findings reported to theteachers. A series of variables related to ALP-Ethos in these schoolsis now being investigated. (Author)
r .1Department of EducationUniversity of Chicago
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April, 1974
Assessment of Classroom Ethos and Some of its Correlates
Herbert Thelen, Susan Arisman, Don Cichon, Tom David, George Olson,Susan Weiss-Handler, Annette Yonke.
This is a very preliminary progress report from the ALP-Ethos re-
search team. This team is engaged in a two-year study, supported by the
Spencer Foundation, for the purpose of assessing classroom Ethos and ex-
ploring its utility for research on educative activities in classrooms.
Our work is based on the following postulates: (Thelen)
1. Most of "teaching" is designed for rather limited objectives
selected from all the possibilities of "learning" and/or "socialization."
2. What the teacher does and causes to happen in the classroom may
have an impact on any part of the child's way of life.
3. The short and long range consequences of the accumulation of
these impacts are the education the child receives and for which we are
accountable.
4. The "whole way of life" may be understood through three para-
digms: adaptation, as in the evolution of the species; participation,
having to do with the tensions between person (or community) and society;Ver$
and transcendence, having to do with the realization of potentials.
5. These aspects of life are in dialectical interplay and the edu-
cativeness of the integration that results depends on the cultural valuesIrt4
and expectations in the classroom Ethos with respect to authenticity,
C:;)legitimacy, and productivityhereinafter referred to as ALP.
-2-
6. Authenticity, legitimacy, and productivity are operationalizable
and may be assessed through perceptions of participants.
7. The educational interpretation of empirical relationships among
achievement, demographic, and performance variables will depend very sig-
nificantly on the ALP Ethos context within which they are measured. Thus
we expect the assessed ALP Ethos variable to bridge between scientific
and educational frames of reference for the examination of classroom ac-
tivity.
Let us now present the ALP Ethos instrument and some of its correlates
uncovfn.ed in a comparison of two contrasting classrooms. First, the in-
strument.
Table - THE ALF ITEMS AND THE CATEGORIES THEY REPRESENT
Item
A2 I felt really challenged by things11 others said.
AS It made me think some new thoughts12 of my own.
A9 I felt like rapping with the teacher13 and other classmates after the
meeting.
All I felt that during the activity I14 could be the sort of person I
wanted to be.
A13 I felt the activity clarified some15 previous personal experiences.
Al? I was excited by what was happening.21
A23 I felt the time passed quickly for me.22
A24 I felt like contributing to the23 activity.
LA As a group we had good reasons for24 what we did.
L6 Our meetings at times really exempli25 tied good group process.
L7 We concentrated our activity on the31 significant aspects of the task.
L12 We understood the nature of our task32 and tried to see what it would re-
quire us to do.
L14 Some of the things we found out will33 be useful in other situations;
L16 The problems we had of working together34 occur regularly in other groups as
well.
1
CategoryAuthenticityOpenness
Stimulation, personalcognitive
Involvement, closure-seeking.
Life-style congruence
Assimilation to pastexperience.
Attentive arousal ormobilization.
Unself- conscious absorption.
Participation duringmeeting.
12.61111.1192Rationale, public
Model for activity
Significance
Logical Requirements
Future utility
Generalization, expectation
L21 Our shared purpose was strong Purpose and commitment35 enough to help guide our
behavior.as guides.
L22 The issues that troubled us in Context, imbeddedness.41 our group are also prevalent
in the larger society.
ProductivityP1 We decided what we wanted to Decision, control42 do and we did it.
P3 We accomplished a great deal. Accomplishment
P5 We knew how well we were pro- Knowledge of Progress44 grassing in our task.
P10 One thing flowed from another. Continuity, sequence.45
P15 We ran into problems and solved Problem-solving51 them.
P18 The diversity of our individual Resource Itilixation.52 backgrounds aided the group.
P19 We all helped each other. CooperaZ 'In.53
P20 We each contributed our special Role Coordination.54 skills to make the meeting
productive.
wgw
The ALP Ethos Instrument (Olson)
The instrument consists of 24 statements on slips of paper. Eight
of the items are keyed to Authenticity, eight to Legitimacy, and eight
to Productivity (Table 1). The 24 statements are intended to sample a
very wide range of potentially salient expectations of classroom way of
life.
Participants are asked to describe their class by ranking the state-
ments from most descriptive (ran!: #1) to least descriptive (rank #24).
To aid in the ranking process, it is suggested that they first sort the
items into three groups: those that are clearly applicable, those that
clearly do not fit, and those that cannot be decided easily one way or
the other. Items within each group are placed in order and then combined
to make a single 24-item rank order which is then recorded on machine-
read answer sheets.
We have used this instrument to have teachers and students describe
their actual class, their ideal class, and how they think others will de-
scrite actual and ideal classes. The instrument calls for fair reading
ability; and we have not determined what reading level is required.
A Composite Picture of Classroom Ethos
This past year, the instrument was administered to 50 classes in
five midwestern schools. From the combined results we arrived at the
following summary of the various themes which describe a composite of
these five schools. The themes are arranged in order of their importance
or characteristicness in the composite classroom.
The most characteristic theme represents general expectations with-
in our culture: school is a place to learn things useful in the future,
a place where one has new thoughts, participates in class activities, and
copes with problems.
The next most characteristic theme describes the obvious explicit
structure of classroom activity. There are.tasks to be completed and one
tries to meet task requirements. Students are aware of progress and ac-
complishments, and the tasks are arranged in sequence.
Somewhat less characteristic are perceptions centering around ration-
ales, that is, reasons for activity. This is the domain of values, social
principles, and policies. whatever the reason, these are necessary in
order to maintain social order for satisfactory completion of the activi-
ties.
Following this theme and middle ranked in the sequence is the theme
of Group Morale. Satisfaction with group process and participation in de-
cisions are neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic. The former fea-
ture is generally a matter of indifferenCe: the latter varies so markedly
in individual rankings that it cannot characterize the composite.
More uncharacteristic than characteristic is the theme of personal
authenticity: support for self - aspiration, unselfconscious absorption in
the activity, and acceptance of challenge by others.
Even more uncharacteristic is the theme of social orientation. Stu-
dents tend not to perceive much connection or link between the classroom
society and the larger society.
Least characteristic of all are perceptions related to individuality
and involvement: that individual resources are utilized, that class-work
-7-
connects to private experienle, that one becomes excited or involved in
class activities, and that one has a sense of common cause with others
in the class.
Itvo Cot____AL...as.s.ti_tClasses (Cichon)
The two classes in the following brief comparison have quite con-
trasting demographic characteristics. One, a French class, is from a
university laboratory school, with a relatively high socio-economic clien-
tele and quite a racial mixture consists: f more whites than blacks.
The other, a Consumer Math class, is from an inner-city public school
having a very low socio-economic clientele and being 100% black.
The comparison is based on each class's mean ranking of the A, L
and P items which provide the best description of "how the kids see the
class" in terms of our instrument. Thus, we may infer that their descrip-
tion constitute the expectations that the students have of life in those
classrooms.
The present comparison, fat the sake of brevity, is based on the
seven top-ranked ,items only.for each class, which are listed in rank order
in Table 2.
Two of the top seven items are similar: learning useful things and
helping each other. Solving problems is ranked first in the math class
and seventh in the French class. The remaining four items of the top
seven are different. In French, the characteristics are wanting to con-
tritute, focus on significant aspects, knowing progress, and meeting task
requirements --basically a structure oriented to achievement. In Math, the
characteristics are strong group purpose, sense of accomplishment, stimu-
-8-
Table 2
COMPARISON QF TWO CLASSES' MOST CHARACTERISTIC A, 15 AND P ITEMS
I. Seven Top- Ranked Items for the French Class:
1. L14 - Some of the things we found out will be useful in other
situations.
2. A24 - I felt like contributing to the actiWy.
3. L7 - We concentrated our activity on the significant aspects
of the task.
4. P19 - We all helped each other.
5. P5 - We knew how well we were progressing it, our task.
6. 1.12 - We understood the nature of our task and tried to see
what it would require us to do.
7. P15 - We ran into problems and solved them.
II. Seven Top-Ranked Items for the Consumer Math Class:
1. P15 We ran into problems and solved them.
2. L14 - Some of the things we found out will be useful in other
situatone.
3. L21 - Our shared purpose was strong enough to help guide our
behavior.
4. P3 - We accomplished a great deal.
5. P19 - We all helped each other.
6. AS - It made me think new thoughts of my own.
7. L4 - As a group we had good reasons for what we dia.
-9-
lation of new thoughts, and having good reasons--basically a structure
oriented to cooperative problem-solving.
The foregoing comparison, though brief, serves to indicate that the
ALP instrument can describe some aspects of life in classrooms, aspects
which allow for a variety of interpretations, depending on the conceptual
framework of the interpreter. It also serves to illustrate that the di-
mensions of authenticity, legitimacy, and productivity are present in dif-
ferent classrooms in different ways. That ie, the character of one class's
authenticity may be very different than that for another class. Ditto for
the dimensions of legitimacy and productivity. In sum, each class has an
Ethos with its own special blend of cultural characteristics, and these are
describable.
Sex Differences (Arisman)
As we continued to analyze the two classes, we were pleased to find
that the instrument was sensitive to another aspect of classroom life- -
that is, how it is lived by different subgroups.
One of the more striking differences was revealed when rankings were
obtained separately on the instrument for boys and girls. In the French
class, only 25% of the items differentiated between boys and girls while
in the Consumer Math class, there were differences on 67% of the items.
Recalling that there was a great difference in socio-economic status be-
tween the two groups, with the Consumer Math made up of students from a
lower socio-economic status than the French class, the amount of difference
seems to be in keeping with the general finding of more sex differentiation
-10--
in lower socio-economic groups.
The pattern of differentiation in the Math class is also interesting.
The boys see the conversational aspect as more characteristic; while the
girls see the academic aspect as more prominent. The boys express and dis-
cuss their feelings about Consumer Math problems. They feel they help each
other. The girls perceive this class as more concerned with the type of
academic problems that they are used to in typical academic classes. They
do not see themselves as actively helping make decisions about activities
or supporting each other.
The items that show reversal patterns between the classes--items which
are more characteristic of one sex in the French class and of the other sex
in the Consumer Math class--are also revealing. Boys in the French class
and girls in the Consumer Math class share a task orientation while the
girls in the French class and the boys in the Consumer Math class share a
supportive, orientation. What makes the finding so exciting is that it seems
to reflect the achievement and affiliation needs of the different ethnic
groups represented by the two classes with the black male students and the
white female students perceiving the interpersonal, conversational aspect
of the class as more characteristic and the white male and the black female
students seeing the achievement or task oriented dimensions as more charac-
teristic. This finding is in line with other work on achievement and af-
filiation needs.
Finally, in both classes, boys tend to perceive the class as problem-
centered whether it is on their own personal achievement rroblema or the
problems of their group. The instrument's sensitivity to these diiferences
in orientation between sexes and ethnic groups and the fact that these
differences can be explained in terms of other research has encouraged
us to pursue the question of classroom sub2ultures in our larger study
of schools.
Achievement (David)
We sere interested in determining (a) the pattern of ALP items which
correlated significantly with achievement in the two classrooms; and.(b)
which ALP items were ranked distinctively different by the top six and
lowest six achieving students in the two classes. Achievement was defined
in terms of scores on a unit examination prepared and administered by the
teacher. Other measures of achievement could yiell quite different patterns- -
a possibility that we are studying in some detail.
Table 3 displays the items which correlated with achievement and which
distinguished high and low achievers from another in the two classes. In
this brief presentation we shall discuss only the latter.
For the French class, the six highest achievers ranked as more de-
scriptive of their class the importance of individual special skills to
the group (P20). They also tended to see the class as personally involving
and absorbing: they felt like contributing to class activities (A24) and
time passed quickly for them (A23).
The lowest six achievers in the French class ranked as more charac-
teristic of the class the importance of a clearly specified task structure
in determining activities (L12). Associated with this emphasis on structure
was a sense of accomplishment (P3). Also ranked higher by the low achievers
Correlates:
Positive
Negative
Differences, favoring:
High Achievers
Bottom Achievers
-12-
Table 3 - Achievement
French ConsumerMath.
P20 AllL14 L14
PS
L12 P1P15 P18P3 P10Al3 L16
P20 AllA24 L14A23 P5
L12Al?
L12 P1P3 P1DAll L22Al3 L16
L13
Note: Item differences between high and low achievers are of atleast six ranks.
-13-
(but in the lower half of their ranking) was the notion that class activi-
ties were exciting (A17) and personally meaningful (A13).
In the Math class, the top six achievers tended to characterize their
class as one where they learned useful things (Lid) and had a clear sense
of progress in their work (P5). They also differed greatly from the bottom
six achievers in that they felt the class was more of a place where they
could be the kind of person they wanted to be (All). They were also more
conscious of a clear task structure guiding the class activities (L12) and
felt more excited about what was going on (A17).
The bottom six achievers in the Math class tended to describe their
class as one where "we decided what we wanted to do and we did it" (P1).
They also characterized the class activities as having continuity (P10) and
as relevant to issues in the larger society (L22) and in other groups (L16),
as well as to their previous personal experiences (A13).
The measures of achievement were not the same for the two classes,
and the classes were selected for study because of their uniqueness rather
than their representativeness of some hypothetical population of French and
Math classes, so the generalizability of these results is limited. What is
important to note is that the ALP instrument is able to pinpoint such sub-
group differences in perception, as well as permit correlational studies
with a number of other measures--of achievement as well as other relevant
variables.
Teacher Perception of Actual versus Ideal Class (Yonke)
In the French class of the Lab School the teacher ranks the following
-14-
ideal items higher than the actual items by eight ranks or more: challenge
and openness (A2); participation and closure seeking after the activity
(A9); self-congruence (All); smoothness of the operation (P10); and a
sense of shared purpose (L21). The theme is personal involvement and
harmonious teamwork.
In his actual class the teacher ranks the following actual items
higher than ideal items: thinking new thoughts (A8); profiting from diver-
sity of backgrounds (P18) and clarifying previous personal experience (A13).
These items form a pattern of meaningful cognitive stimulation.
In the Consumer Math class the teacher ranks the following ideal
items higher than the actual items: concentration on significant aspects
of the task (L7); shared purpose strong enough to help guide behavior
(L21); students contributing special skills to the activity (P20) and help-
ing each other (P19). The theme is effective, focussed cooperation.
I! the actual Math class the teacher ranks the following actual items
higher than the ideal: students rapping with each other and with the teach-
er (A9); learning useful things (L14); thinking new thoughts (A8); being
concerned with issues and problems of the larger society (L16 and L22).
The theme is cognitive involvement and generalization.
In general the actual-ideal tension of the French teacher is between
cognitive stimulation (actual perception) vs. desire for greater personal
involvement and teamwork (ideal). The actual-ideal tension of the Math
teacher is between conceptual orientation (actual) vs. effective coopera-
tion. The conventional wisdom is that discrepancies between views of the
actual and ideal would generate tension and problems. It remains to be
-15-
seen to what extent and in what ways the ALP actual vs. ideal patterns
diagnose dynamically meaningful tensions.
Comparison of Perception and Class Perception (Weiss-Handler)
In the French class, there are four items which the teacher finds to
be more characteristic of the class than do the students: AS, the members
think some new thoughts, Al ?, experience a measure of excitement, A13, the
activity clarifies some previous personal experience, and P18, the diver-
sity of individual backgrounds aided the group. In summary, the teacher
perceives the activity to be more personally involving than do the students.
More than the teacher, the students perceive they are concentrating
on the significant aspects of the task, L7, they know their progress, P5,
they are helping one another, P19. Less characteristic of the classroom,
but still more so than perceived by the teacher, the students perceive that
the class is accomplishing a great deal, P3, functioning rationally, L4,
and using good group process, L6.
The French class is more teacher than student directed. This may
help explain why the teacher finds the class more personally involving
than the students, and why the students see the class as a group exercise,
in which they respond to academic demands.
In the Consumer Math class, the teacher perceives that the class en-
courages participation, A24, A9, makes use of individual differences, P18
(also noted by the first teacher), and meets the needs of their life styles,
All. Although the teacher ranks the following items as less characteristic,
she perceives more than the students that there is some link to past ex-
perience, A13, the groap is proceeding logically, L12, and somewhat effi-
-26-
ciently, L7, toward completion of the task.
The students see the class as more concerned with problem-solving,
P15, accomplishment, P3, purposes, L21, and the group itself, L4. The
students feel much more than the teacher does that they are helping each
other, P19. Less characteristic but ranked higher by the students were
group decision making, Pi, and progress, P5.
Again we note that the teacher perceives the activity as more in-
volving than do the students.
In the French class, the students see the group as more important
than the teacher does, while in the Consumer Math class, the students focus
more on the problem-solving aspect of the class than does the teacher. In
both classes, the teacher is less concerned with group process and some-
what less concerned with productivity than are the students.
This data demonstrates the tensions that may exist between the teach-
ers' and students' perceptions in two classrooms. The teachers may be aware
and understand some of this tension, but likely not all. It raises the
question of how teachers cope with such tension.
-17-
Table 4 - Similar and Different Ranks for Students and Teacher
Ranks of items are in parentheses--first teacher's, thenstudents'.
French Class
#1 = most; and #24 = least characteristic.
Similar More Char.: Tchr. More Char.: Studs.
A
A2A9AllA24
(22,24)(20,22)(19,23)(2,2)
A8A13Al?
(3,16)(6,20)
(5,18)
A23 (21,14)
L
L12L14L21
(7,6)
(1,1)(14,15)
L4L6L7L16L22
(16,10)(17, 8)(8,3)
(15, 9)(24,19)
P
P1P10P15P20
(23,21)(13,13)(10, 7)( 9,12)
P18 ( 4,17) P3P5P19
(18,11)(12, 5)(11, 4)
Consumer Math Class
Similar More Char.: Tchr. More Char.: Studs.
A
A2 (11,12)AS (8, 6)A23 (15,17)
A9 (3,8)All (2, 19)A13 (10,23)A24 (1, 16)
A17 (23,15)
P
1414 (4,2)16 (20,20)L16 (12,10)L22 (5,9)
P10 (13,13)P20 (21,24)
L7 (17,22)L12 (9, 14)
L4 (19, 7)L21 (14, 3)
P18 (6, 21) P1 (22,18)P3 (24, 4)P5 (16,11)P15 (7,1)P19 (19, 5)